So you'd rather have Cooley over Slaf ? The reality is both are in the same tier and it doesn't matter much who we pick. The only thing is, if the Habs pick Catton, Demidov or Helenius, they will be seen as small again.
Nah Slafkovsky is very different than Lindstrom. Lindstrom is a better skater, is more physical, way more direct and he even has a better shot than Slafkovsky but in term of vision, playmaking ability to use his teammates, stickhandling and ability to use space and attract player to create space for his teammates is something I have not seen Lindstrom do like Slafkovsky. I still like Lindstrom he is one tough SOB and he will be a pain to play against but If you want a scary comparison he is more like a better Josh Anderson. I am just scared that he is not the offensive juggernaut we all expect from a top 5 pick. Maybe Bobrov will have another speech about Unicorn and we will take him, I don't know. I do feel better knowing the habs seem to have proper player development team now. Maybe they will find way for him to use his teammates more. Develop him to become a similar player as Brady Tkachuk.
As for Cooley vs Catton not that far off but I believe Cooley is more physical, better top gear but he does not have the vision and playmaking of Catton. With Catton he still also has a longway to go in his development but his hockey IQ is phenomenal. He will have to work on getting bigger/stronger and improve his explosiveness (the good news is that his skating technique is actually very good, I am hopeful that if he works on getting lower body strength it will improve his skating). Maybe an hybrid type of Gaudreau/Point or even a similar player as Jack Hughes.
Overall if both reach their ultimate projection I could see Catton become a top 10 NHL producer 100pts+ while Lindstrom could become a 40/40 type of player if everything goes well and he if matched with players that can feed him the puck.